THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, June 26, 1996 TAG: 9606250131
SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON PAGE: 04 EDITION: FINAL
LENGTH: 27 lines
Although their funding will dry up July, 1, members of the Virginia Beach Master Gardeners aren't planning to wither and go away.
The group of trained volunteers will become a private organization when funding for their Virginia Tech Cooperative Extension program ends next week.
At the June meeting, members decided to form their own association and incorporate, said master gardener Eva Lynn Bialas. Over the summer, they will write by-laws and elect officers. The Master Gardener training program, an intensive 60-hour course for prospective master gardeners, will go on as planned this fall.
At the meeting, master gardeners also honored Extension Horticulturist Randy Jackson with a plaque of appreciation and other tributes, Bialas said.
Jackson has administered the Virginia Tech Master Gardener program and organized its training since it began here 14 years ago. After this week, he will no longer be able to continue in that role as a result of a reallocation in the Extension Service budget.
There are about 150 master gardeners in Virginia Beach who must give 45 volunteers hours a year to stay active with the program. Each year, the gardeners work an average of 10,000 volunteer hours in public gardens such as the Francis Land House and in presenting educational programs on environmental horticulture to schools and organizations. by CNB